Density profile of 3He in a nanoscale 3He-4He superfluid film determined by neutron scattering

Abstract

For decades, superfluid helium has attracted the interest of the scientific community as an extremely pure realisation of a quantum liquid, only accessible at temperatures close to absolute zero. Previously, helium films have only been observed directly using X-rays. However, this method is limited to temperatures above 1 K due to the high levels of energy deposition, and it also suffers from an inability to distinguish between helium isotopes. Here we show that a 3He layer on top of a phase separated mixture film at 170 mK gradually dissolves into the 4He with increasing temperature. We also observe an anomaly in film behaviour near 300 mK and unexpected restoration of the layered structure at 1.5 K which is consistent with a re-entrant phase transition leading to the suppression of superfluidity in the film near 300 mK. Our successful application of neutron scattering to study helium films at ultra-low temperatures opens up new possibilities for future research. Superfluidity, a liquid exhibiting frictionless flow, is so far limited to observations in low-temperature 3He and 4He, where the underlying mechanisms governing the quantum state are complex and different for each isotope, making for a fascinating but challenging phenomenon to study experimentally. The authors use isotope-sensitive neutron reflectometry to investigate mixed 3He/4He superfluid He films on a Si surface, and resolve the structural features and phase transitions that occur with changing temperature.